Blue Roads to Hiking Trails: Milford, PA

Milford is the beginning of our exploration of Route 6, but this is not the beginning of this road. US Route 6 stretches across the continent from the tip end of Cape Cod on the Atlantic Ocean to the sand of Long Beach, California on the Pacific. In Pennsylvania, Route 6 crosses the border from New Jersey in the hamlet of Matamoras and winds its way along the border to Milford then northward to Honesdale and then down to Scranton. From Scranton it turns northwest briefly before heading west along the northern tier to eventually cross into Ohio at Linesville just south of Lake Erie. Across the state, route 6 passes through cities, towns, villages, and boroughs that have, over the years, formed the history and heritage of Pennsylvania.

Our plan is to find campgrounds easily accessible to I-86 across the southern tier of New York. By staying at a campsite for several days we can then explore Route 6 without pulling the Montana around the curves and through the narrow streets of town. Speaking of curves, Route 6 is a popular ride for motorcyclists and bikers are welcomed with open arms. If you are into Diners, you’re in luck. There are some 15 or 16 diners along this drive. We plan to visit several of these eateries and I will mention them as we enjoy their homemade specialties.

Milford Community House and Library

We are currently parked at Honesdale, about 30 miles west of Milford on Route 6. From here we will visit Milford, Hawley, Honesdale and Scranton. After we got parked, and spent the following day decompressing from the stress of the drive, we started our investigation of northern Pennsylvania in Milford. Well, actually we did drive to Matamoras but I can’t say as there is anything there other than the Pennsylvania Welcome Center. With nothing else to see, we loaded up on brochures and headed to Milford.

Specialty shops in this little alley

One of the homes that caught our eye

Milford is a small town of about 1200 folks. The historic district is comprised of two square blocks north and south of Route 6. It has a lazy day feel that encourages the visitor to stroll slowly along gazing at the architecture and ducking into antique shops and boutiques. Two buildings were of particular interest to us. First, on the corner of Broad St and Route 6 is the huge gray stone structure of Forest Hall. Founded by Gifford Pinchot, known as the Father of American Conservation, this building housed the first school of forestry in America. Also located nearby is the mansion of Pinchot, Gray Towers. Pinchot, not only a conservationist, also became governor of Pennsylvania. He gets lots of recognition here.

Forest Hall

If you need a cow, there's one for sale here

The other building which got our attention was the Hotel Fauchére. This fabulous old hotel was established in 1852 by the master chef of Delmonico’s in New York which, at the time, was the most famous restaurant in America. It is still a hotel and restaurant today and although they offer a “fine dining” experience, I doubt it is up to the standards of Chef Fauchére. We didn’t try it, so I could be wrong. Just as a note, we generally follow 2 guidelines when selecting a restaurant. First, if it has tablecloths, real napkins, and wine glasses on the tables, it better be a very special occasion and secondly, are we dressed appropriately in jeans? We did go in and walk around the lobby of the hotel. The front portion is dark with very dark, almost black, ceiling paneling. In the back was a glass enclosed sitting room overlooking a small garden. This was very inviting. We managed to find a price sheet and a room for the night would cost $275. They will gladly add state and local taxes to that. We are currently camped for $20 a night which is more in line with our budget. So I am not familiar with hotel prices. This might be quite in line with similar accommodations in the greater New York area.